


The Next Step

by TerminalMiraculosis



Series: Weblena week (March 2020) [4]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: F/F, Future AU, Some other minor characters - Freeform, lena just wants to be gay but the universe is being mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23471533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerminalMiraculosis/pseuds/TerminalMiraculosis
Summary: When the triplets get back from college on Spring break, they suggest that it might be a good time for Lena to take her relationship with Webby up to the next level. Complications ensue.
Relationships: Lena (Disney: DuckTales)/Webby Vanderquack
Series: Weblena week (March 2020) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1674511
Comments: 2
Kudos: 91





	The Next Step

**Author's Note:**

> Done (very late) for the You Beautiful Idiot server's Weblena Week. Day 4: Adults
> 
> To clarify, they're roughly ten years older here.

Lena was reclining on the mansion steps, her head in Webby’s lap, enjoying the feel of her fingers running through her hair. Violet was there, too, sitting ramrod straight on the top step, engrossed with her tablet. Apparently, a new paper had been published about the parallels between golemancy and artificial intelligence, and Violet had barely looked up ever since she’d gotten the notification. 

Lena remembered a time when Violet was the only one in the world writing those kinds of papers; Lena was glad that the scientific community had finally started to understand that Violet was a genius and way smarter than all of them combined, and had stopped disregarding arcane studies as a proper field.

“So, do you think the boys have changed much?” Webby asked. “Now that they’re upperclassmen and all.”

“They didn’t seem to change much during their freshman and sophomore years,” Violet mused. “I doubt it’ll be much different in their junior year.”

“It’s only Spring break,” Lena said. “They’ve got time.”

“I bet Louie dyed his hair,” Webby mused.

Lena snorted. “I bet Dewey got a tattoo.”

“I bet Huey still wears that dumb hat,” Violet deadpanned.

The conversation was quickly cut short when Della’s van pulled into the driveway. Webby jumped up with an excited gasp. “They’re here!”

The car doors opened, and the triplets spilled out of the car, only to be wrangled into a group hug by Webby. Lena and Violet walked over a bit more casually, and arrived just as Webby finally let the boys out of her bear-trap embrace.

“I was right!” Webby exclaimed, pointing up at Louie’s hair, which had light green tips. “I totally called it!”

“Nice look, Green,” Lena said. “It suits you.”

Louie shrugged. “Felt like a change.”

“You’re gonna have to tell me EVERYTHING!” Webby said. “I know it’s only been a few months since winter break but I missed you guys _so much!”_

“We missed you too, Webby,” Dewey said. “I don’t know if there’s a lot to talk about, though. I’ve been too busy at school to do a lot of fun stuff.”

Louie and Huey nodded in agreement.

“Ah, college,” Violet said, looking off into the distance. “That was a fun year of my adolescent life.”

Huey groaned. “Yes, Violet, we’re _well aware_ of how fast you got your degrees. Do you really have to bring it up _every time_ we’re back?”

“Yes,” she said simply.

“Hey, Dewey,” Lena said as Della and Donald unloaded a trio of color-coded suitcases from the car. “Important question: did you get a tattoo?”

“Wh—” Dewey’s jaw dropped, and he turned to her. “How do you know about that!? Is this some freaky magic thing?!”

“Oh my god,” Lena said, breaking down laughing. “Oh my god, you _did!”_

Louie turned to Dewey with a smirk. “You got a _tattoo?”_ he asked incredulously.

“I am an adult!” Dewey said. “I can do things if I want to!”

“Nah, dude, good on you!” Lena said, pushing down her laughter. “I’m proud of you.” 

“Can…” Huey paused. “Can we see it?”

“Ugh,” Dewey said, blushing a little. He reached up to his collar and pulled it down to reveal a pattern of stylized stars inked onto his shoulder. “There.”

“Ooh, I love that!” Webby said. “I think it fits you.”

“Just don’t tell Uncle Donald,” Dewey said. “I think he’d freak.”

“Don’t tell me what?” Donald asked as he approached them, handing the boys their suitcases.

“We’re talking about memes,” Louie said immediately.

Donald rolled his eyes and mumbled something incomprehensible under his breath as he wandered off.

Louie smirked. “Works every time.”

* * *

Lena was hiding in one of the auxiliary living rooms of the mansion as the others celebrated elsewhere. She’d been having fun, of course; she’d just needed a little break. She kind of wished Webby were with her, but she was talking with her brothers right now, and it would’ve been selfish of Lena to keep her all for herself.

Or, maybe Webby _wasn’t_ talking with the boys, Lena supposed as the three of them sauntered into the room.

“There you are!” Dewey exclaimed.

“Great, company,” Lena said dully. “That’s exactly what I was looking for when I came into this empty, out of the way room.”

“I appreciate the sarcasm, but this is important,” Louie said. “We’ve got a souvenir for you.”

Immediately, Lena became suspicious, and narrowed her eyes at them. “What sort of souvenir?” 

Huey held out a small velvet box. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Lena gave them all one last suspicious glance, then took the box and carefully opened it to reveal a glittering silver ring with a small pink gemstone inlaid in the top. 

“What is this supposed to be?” Lena asked.

“It’s an engagement ring,” Huey said.

“Are you trying to tell me to propose?” Lena asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, we just really thought you’d like it,” Louie said, rolling his eyes. “Of course we’re telling you to propose, idiot!”

“I’m—I don’t know if I’m ready, though!” Lena protested. “When we started dating, we both agreed to take things slow.”

“And you did a _great_ job with that,” Dewey said, clasping his hands together. “But we really think you’re ready for the next step. Both of you!” 

“I mean, seriously,” Huey said, a bit less tactfully. “How long have you two been dating?”

“Six years,” Lena said. “Well, and four months.”

“…And?” Huey prompted.

“And twenty-two days _look it doesn’t matter okay,”_ Lena spat. “What if she says no?”

“Oh my god,” Louie said, throwing his hands up and turning around to flop face-down on the couch. “I give up. I give up! This is too much.”

“She’s not gonna say no,” Dewey insisted, putting a hand on Lena’s shoulder. _“Trust_ us. We’re her brothers; we know.”

Lena sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll… give it some thought.”

“I’m taking that!” Louie rolled off the couch and got up. “That’s the best we’re gonna get. Mission successful. Can’t wait for the wedding.” He walked out of the room, mumbling to himself. “I hope Scrooge still keeps Pep in the house…”

“You got this!” Huey said with an encouraging grin. “We believe in you.”

“Thanks, guys.” Lena allowed them all a small smile. “I missed you nerds.”

“Aww, now don’t get _sappy_ on us, Lena,” Dewey said, giving her a soft elbow in the ribs. “Keep this up, and you’ll be crying right alongside Mom when we go back to school next week!”

“Yeah, not a chance,” Lena said, picking him up with her telekinesis and stuffing him head-first into the couch. “I’m gonna go find Webby before she gets suspicious. Catch you later.”

Dewey mumbled something into the cushions, but Lena was already out the door, busy stuffing the ring into her pocket and trying to forget it was there. She let out a deep breath; _Just one step at a time, Lena._

* * *

**A couple weeks later**

Hundreds of scientists, science majors, and general science enthusiasts sat transfixed in their seats. The annual Duckburg Science Convention had booked some amazing speakers this year, not the least of which was Gyro Gearloose, who, while perhaps a little… _off,_ in some respects, had pushed the boundaries of science quite significantly.

“…the only theoretical problem with this entirely hypothetical invention,” he said, approaching the close of his talk about a complex cloning device, “would be that when you and your clones inevitably turn on each other and start fighting to the death, the lone survivor might not even remember if he is the original or not, which could, potentially, lead to a severe and traumatic identity crisis. Of course, that’s only in this purely hypothetical scenario in which this device that I’ve theorized was actually built. Which is, haha, ridiculous.” He coughed. “Anyway that’s my time.”

Amidst a round of polite applause, Gyro grabbed his presentation materials and walked briskly off the stage, to be replaced by the host, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera.

“Gyro Gearloose, everyone!” Fenton said, clapping his hands. “I used to intern for him once, you know! We’re great friends. Right, Gyro?”

“Stop telling people we’re friends,” came a voice from off stage.

Fenton laughed. “Good old Gyro, am I right? Anyway, our final speaker for the night was a little bit of a controversial pick, but you can’t deny the results she produces! You know her for the endothaumic generator, the mana-based propulsion unit, and countless other inventions that have been lauded for their ingenuity, and occasionally even called ‘witchcraft’ or ‘affronts against science itself’! It’s Doctor Violet Sabrewing, pioneer researcher in the field of arcane sciences!”

Applause broke out as Violet walked out from behind the curtain and stepped up to the podium at the front of the auditorium and cleared her throat, reshuffling a small stack of papers in her hands. 

“Thank you all for coming,” Violet said. “I’ve attended this convention ever since I was a little girl, and it’s partially what inspired me to pursue my career in science, so it’s an honor to find myself on the other side of the podium. For today’s talk, I shall be discussing the potential applications of shadow magic—or, shadow thaumic emissions, if you’re one of those idiots who can’t get over the fact that magic is a perfectly well-defined scientific concept, as outlined in my first professionally published paper in the field ten years ago. I won’t dwell on that old debate any longer, though.

“For this presentation, I’m bringing in a special guest. While this convention may be responsible for my interests in the sciences, she was largely responsible for my interests in the arcane, and helped me immensely in publishing my original series of papers that served as the foundation for the field. Everybody, please give a warm welcome to Ms. Lena Sabrewing.”

The crowd began to clap, but it grew hesitant and died out as Violet lit a candle and turned to the center of the stage, beginning to chant in a language that nobody could understand. Her eyes flashed white, then faded down to an inky black as a tornado of shadows began swirling around the stage. The curtains blew about erratically in a newfound wind, and one of the spotlights flickered.

And then, just like that, it was over, and a tallish woman was kneeling in front of Dr. Sabrewing. She was wearing a grey striped sweater, had some pink streaks in her hair, and was holding a small velvet box with a ring in it. “Will you marry me?”

The crowd gasped.

“I’d rather not,” Violet said, not missing a beat. 

The crowd gasped again.

Lena looked up at Violet, looked out over the crowd, and paled when she saw the big banner that read ANNUAL DUCKBURG SCIENCE CONVENTION in big, boring black letters.

“Fuck!” she screamed, standing up frantically. “I knew I was forgetting something today! Shit, Vi, I’m so sorry! What am I supposed to be doing?”

“I just wanted you to demo some spells for these fine members of Duckburg’s scientific community,” Violet explained. “Provided, of course, that you aren’t in the middle of anything.”

She nodded subtly down towards the engagement ring that was still in Lena’s hand. Lena followed her gaze, and her eyes widened again. “Double fuck! Why do I have literally the worst luck ever?!” She groaned, closing the box and stuffing it back into her pocket. “Well, the moment’s spoiled anyway. Let’s do your little nerd show.”

“Are you sure?” Violet asked. “It’s alright if you want to leave.”

“No, no, I’m sure,” Lena said, waving her off. “Go do your thing.”

Violet walked up to the microphone and cleared her throat. “Apologies. This is Lena, and she has a significant amount of shadow magic. Shadow magic is a very interesting field of the arcane for a number of reasons, not limited to…”

* * *

Webby stared across the table, at where Lena had been just a second ago, before erupting into a pillar of shadows.

“Lena?” she asked, looking around in confusion. “Was that the surprise you said you had for me?”

She scanned the room and even checked under the table, but couldn’t find any trace of her girlfriend. She huffed; this kind of thing wasn’t exactly _uncommon_ when it came to dating Lena, but was still a little annoying when a date got cut short because of some random magical nonsense or whatever.

Webby decided to focus on the positives, though, as she swapped her empty plate out for Lena’s half-finished one, and started eating her pancakes. Some people might have said that an all-day breakfast restaurant wasn’t a very romantic place for a date—those people were fools and cowards, and they would eventually be picked off by natural selection.

Webby was only a few bites into Lena’s meal when her phone buzzed. She fished it out of her skirt pocket to find that Lena was texting her. She quickly unlocked her phone.

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** Ugh. Sorry. I forgot I was helping Vi out with one of her nerd talks today

 **You:** Ooohhhh. Did she summon you?

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** Yeah

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** She’s having me do a bunch of spells and stuff

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** Honestly I think it’s freaking out the audience. So less boring than anticipated ig

 **You:** Are you texting me while you’re on stage

 **You:** That’s rude you know

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** Are you eating my pancakes?

Webby paused; her fork, full of Lena’s pancakes, was halfway to her mouth.

 **You:** Uh

 **You:** No?

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** And I’m not texting during Vi’s lecture so it looks like we’re both being very considerate right now. Go us!

 **You:** It’s not like you can eat them from there anyway!!

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** …Sorry again. This isn’t how I wanted this date to go at all

 **You:** This isn’t nearly the worst one of our dates have gone and you know it

 **You:** I’ll see you back at the apartment ok?

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** Ok

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** Love you

 **You:** Love you too!! <3

 **Beautiful Amazing Sunshine GF:** Less than three

Webby rolled her eyes, turning off her phone and putting it away. She licked her lips; now, about these pancakes…

* * *

“What was your surprise, by the way?” Webby said softly as she crawled into bed next to Lena later that night.

Lena turned, throwing an arm over her girlfriend and pulling her in close. “Hmm?”

“You said you had a surprise for me at dinner,” Webby reminded her. “But then Violet summoned you before you could show me.”

“Oh, that.” Lena paused. “Um… It’s not a big deal. I’ll give it to you later.”

Webby smirked. “When I least expect it?”

Lena laughed. “We both know I could never sneak up on you.”

“Yeah.” Webby closed her eyes and snuggled into Lena. “It’s okay. I still love you even if you can’t successfully ambush me.”

“Thanks, Pink.”

* * *

**A few days later**

“So… I’ve been doing some thinking,” Lena said, breaking the silence. She didn’t look at Webby, but stared out over the ocean, kicking her legs off the side of the amphitheater.

“Me too,” Webby agreed. “This place brings back memories.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t torn it down yet,” Lena said.

“Scrooge technically owns the land, not Duckburg. He probably doesn’t think it’s worth the demolition expense.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

“So you’ve been doing some thinking?” Webby prompted.

“Yeah, I have. Thinking about you. And us.”

“Mmhmm?”

“And, well.” Lena moved her hand into her pocket, rubbing the small box. “I think that—”

“HELP!” Louie shouted, rushing over to them, waving his arms. “There’s a cyclops attacking the mansion! It ate Dewey!” 

Lena grit her teeth. “Of course.” She stood up. “Give me two seconds with it. It doesn’t know what it just interrupted.”

* * *

**A few more days later**

“This is nice,” Webby said, as the movie came to a close.

“It was okay,” Lena muttered. “The romance subplot was a bit forced.”

“I just mean cuddling you, you gorgeous dummy,” Webby said.

“R-right.” Lena gulped. This was as good a time as any, she supposed. “Hey, Webby… Can I ask you—”

The door to the apartment blew open, and black heron stormed in. “Vanderquack! Finally, I’ve found you, and can exact my revenge against you and your _obnoxious_ family!”

“I’m going to kill her,” Lena mumbled into Webby.

“Not if I kill her first,” Webby said. “I was gearing up for at least another half hour of cuddling.”

* * *

**Even more days later**

Lena opened bleary eyes. The digital clock on the bedside table read 3:30am, and the faint red light was nearly blinding. She groaned and rolled over, only for something to poke her in the thigh. She reached down and pulled the offending object out of her pocket—oh. It was the engagement ring’s box, still in her pocket from her five hundredth failed proposal attempt or whatever. 

An idea came to her groggy, sleep-deprived mind. Oh, she was never gonna live this down if the boys found out.

“Hey, Webs,” she muttered. “You awake?”

Webby turned over to face her, rubbing at her eyes. “Mm? What is it? Nightmare?”

“No, nothing like that.” She clicked open the box. “Do you want to marry me?”

“Aww, Lenaaaa!” Webby drawled, clearly still waking up. “Of course I wanna marry you. I wanted to propose myself but—” She paused to let out a yawn. “But I was scared an’ stuff. You know how it is.”

“Tell me about it,” Lena agreed.

Webby reached out and plucked the ring out of the box. “It’s so pretty!” she said. “Well, I can’t really see it right now. But I know it’s pretty!” She slipped it onto her finger, and then wrapped her arms around Lena. “I know there’s probably stuff we should talk about. Weddings and whatever. But I’m tired.”

“Yeah,” Lena said. “Me too. Sorry for doing this at three am.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Webby said, already falling asleep against Lena’s chest. “It’s very you. And that means it’s perfect.”

Lena smiled, and couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” came the reply. Lena’s subconscious picked up the words as they sailed lazily through her ears, and bounced them all around her head as she fell asleep.


End file.
